Coaches Profile – Simon Giovannoni

This will be Simon Giovannoni’s second year as a coach at Sandringham Sabres, but this will be his first as head coach of the SEABL women’s team. Last year, Giovannoni was an assistant coach for the SEABL men’s side.

Giovannoni started coaching with Waverly and their U14 boy’s team. In 2007, he was chosen as an assistant coach for the Vic Metro State side that won the national title.

After this, he became a scholarship coach at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) for two years. During his time at the AIS, he coached Australian stars Matthew Dellavedova, Brock Motum and Cameron Bairstow.

In 2010, Giovannoni became the Director of Coaching at Sydney Grammar until 2012, when he was appointed as a high-performance coach at the Australian College of Sport.

In 2014 he joined the Frankston Blues as an assistant coach for their SEABL men’s side and then was promoted to head coach for the 2015 season.

Giovannoni said the most important thing he has learnt throughout his coaching career is to stay true to yourself. He believes you need to know who you are and understand what you like and what you don’t.

When discussing his favourite attributes in players, Giovannoni said that he likes players with sound fundamentals, players that are adaptable and resilient and, most importantly, players that are curious to improve.